(1) Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to slotted cylinder transducers and in particular, to a reliable sealing boot for preventing external fluid from entering the slotted cylinder transducer and method of making the slotted cylinder transducer with reliable sealing boot.
(2) Description of the Prior Art
Slotted cylinder transducers have enjoyed notably high acoustic output and efficiency for their size and frequency of operation. These slotted cylinder transducers typically comprise an actuated slotted cylinder with end caps and a boot for sealing the slotted cylinder transducer. Prior art slotted cylinder transducers are found in U.S. Pat. No. 2,812,452 issued to W. T. Harris, U.S. Pat. No. 4,651,044 issued to H. W. Kompanek, U.S. Pat. No. 5,103,130 issued to K. D. Rolt, and U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,229,978 and 5,267,223 issued to Flanagan et al.
Prior art slotted cylinder transducers have suffered from poor reliability as a result of leaky boots. The leaking boots allow liquid to enter the transducer causing failure of the transducer. The leak conditions result from a marginally successful manual application of the boot to the slotted cylinder and end caps using an epoxy adhesive. The boot has historically been attached to relatively small bond areas where the boot is subject to high static and dynamic operating stresses causing failure of the seal formed by the boot. In addition, the manual application of the boot in combination with the epoxy adhesive can lead to the epoxy entering critical areas of the transducer affecting performance, e.g., variations in impedance near the mechanical resonance.